French mathematician Hugo Duminil-Copin, who was awarded on July 5, 2022 the world's most prestigious mathematics prize the Fields medal with three other mathematicians, poses in Geneva, on June 28, 2022. Duminil-Copin whose visual approach helped him win the Fields medal said he "doesn't really fit into the cliches of a genius". The 36-year-old, who has a messy head of hair and bright eyes beaming from behind glasses, told AFP that he is a "very, very normal person" who loves sport, his family and quiet moments of reflection.

Duminil-Copin, Fields-winning mathematician with 'aesthetic vision'

Innovations

Paris (AFP) – Hugo Duminil-Copin, a French mathematician whose visual approach helped him win the world's most prestigious mathematics prize the Fields Medal on Tuesday, said he "doesn't really fit into the cliches of a genius".

The 36-year-old, who has a messy head of hair and bright eyes beaming from behind glasses, told AFP that he is a "very, very normal person" who loves sport, his family and quiet moments of reflection.

But for Duminil-Copin, who specialises in probability theory, those quiet moments can lead to discoveries that won him the Fields Medal, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics.

He accepted the prize, which is awarded every four years to mathematicians under 40, at a ceremony in Finland's capital Helsinki.

The other winners were Britain's James Maynard of Oxford University, June Huh of Princeton in the United States and Ukraine's Maryna Viazovska, who is only the second ever woman laureate.

Duminil-Copin described with unabashed enthusiasm the happiness he finds in working with others in the search for answers -- whether or not they find one.

"It's the best, especially since it's a collective process, where all the beauty is in interacting with others," he said in an interview a few days before the prize was announced.

A visual mind

Born on August 26, 1985, Duminil-Copin has collected a raft of mathematics awards over the last decade.

At the age of 31, he was appointed professor at France's Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies in 2016.

"It's a place that seems made for me, for my creative part," he said of the green campus outside Paris.

It gives the mathematician that most precious resource for deep thinkers: time.

"This slowness in everyday life is very fruitful because I need time for ideas to come, for them to settle quietly, for them to take shape," he said.

At the campus, which is not far from where he grew up, Duminil-Copin uses his "very visual intuition" to take on the most complicated mathematical problems.

"There are very few formulas and many drawings" in his mind when he thinks about such problems, he said.

That "aesthetic vision" allows him to view mathematics with a "certain elegance", he added.

The Paris institute allows researchers to free themselves of all other obligations, including teaching.

But Duminil-Copin teaches anyway, retaining a professorship at the University of Geneva, saying that "in the end it is perhaps the most important aspect of this profession".

He may have inherited this passion from his father, a sports teacher, and mother, a dancer who became a teacher later in life.

When he was younger, Duminil-Copin envisioned becoming a teacher himself -- of maths, of course -- but his talent propelled him towards research.

Collaboration is at the heart of his outlook. If he provides mathematical tools to physicists, their work in turn may allow someone else in the future to find new applications for them.

"It's the whole community that really produces scientific progress," he said.

Mental balance

Duminil-Copin hailed the importance of two university professors to his career, Jean-Francois Le Gall, who also worked on probability theory, and fellow Fields Medal winner Wendelin Werner.

He said he fell in "love at first sight" with percolation theory during a class Werner taught on the subject, which falls under the branch of statistical physics.

It was in that class that Duminil-Copin first encountered Nienhuis's conjecture -- a "beautiful, elegant and completely mysterious" problem, he said.

"I solved it a few years later, almost without doing it on purpose."

As a child, Duminil-Copin preferred astronomy to mathematics.

He said he was "not pushed at all" by his parents to focus solely on his studies -- instead they were keen to "confront him with a variety of things" such as sport, music and friends.

The lesson seems to have stuck.

"When we talk about preparing to become a researcher we think of intelligence, academic training, but there is also a mental balance which is very important," he said.

New ideas can strike him "anytime, in the middle of the night or in the shower", he said.

But they will have to wait until he's back at work.

"My priority is on the personal side, to spend time with my daughter and my wife."

This picture taken on April 27, 2022 shows Miki Ito, general manager at Astroscale, speaking about a project which uses a magnet to collect out-of-service satellites during an interview with AFP in Tokyo.

Using lasers and 'tow-trucks', Japanese firms target space debris

Innovations

From laser beams and wooden satellites to galactic tow-truck services, start-ups in Japan are trying to imagine ways to deal with a growing environmental problem: space debris.

Junk like used satellites, parts of rockets and wreckage from collisions has been piling up since the space age began, with the problem accelerating in recent decades.

"We're entering an era when many satellites will be launched one after another. Space will become more and more crowded," said Miki Ito, general manager at Astroscale, a company dedicated to "space sustainability".

"There are simulations suggesting space won't be usable if we go on like this," she told AFP. "So we must improve the celestial environment before it's too late."

The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that around one million pieces of debris larger than a centimetre -- big enough to "disable a spacecraft" -- are in Earth's orbit.

They are already causing problems, from a near-miss in January involving a Chinese satellite, to a five-millimetre hole knocked into a robotic arm on the International Space Station last year.

"It's hard to predict exactly how fast the amount of space debris will increase," said Toru Yamamoto, a senior researcher at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

But "it's an issue that raises real concerns about the sustainable use of space."

With satellites now crucial for GPS, broadband and banking data, collisions pose significant risks on Earth.

Tadanori Fukushima has seen the scale of the problem in his job as an engineer with Tokyo-based satellite operator and broadcaster SKY Perfect JSAT.

"A stationary satellite would get roughly 100 'debris-approaching' alerts a year," he told AFP.

International "satellite disposal guidelines" include rules like moving used satellites to "graveyard orbit" -- but the increase in debris means more is needed, specialists say.

- 'No panacea' -

Fukushima launched an in-house start-up in 2018 and envisions using a laser beam to vaporise the surface of space debris, creating a pulse of energy that pushes the object into a new orbit.

The irradiating laser means there's no need to touch any debris, which is generally said to move about 7.5 kilometres per second -- much faster than a bullet.

For now, the project is experimental, but Fukushima hopes to test the idea in space by spring 2025, working with several research institutions.

Japanese firms, along with some in Europe and the United States, are leading the way on developing solutions, according to Fukushima.

Some projects are further along, including Astroscale's space "tow-truck", which uses a magnet to collect out-of-service satellites.

"If a car breaks down, you call a tow-truck service. If a satellite breaks down and stays there, it faces the risk of collision with debris and needs to be collected quickly," Ito explained.

The firm carried out a successful trial last year and imagines one day equipping customer satellites with a "docking plate" equivalent to a tow-truck's hook, allowing collection later on.

Astroscale, which has a contract with the ESA, plans a second test by the end of 2024 and hopes to launch its service soon after.

Other efforts approach the problem at the source, by creating satellites that don't produce debris.

Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry envisage a wooden satellite that goes into orbit in a rocket and burns up safely when it plunges to Earth.

That project is also in its infancy -- in March, pieces of wood were sent to the International Space Station to test how they respond to cosmic rays.

Space agencies have their own programmes, with JAXA focusing on large debris over three tonnes.

And internationally, firms including US-based Orbit Fab and Australia's Neumann Space have proposed ideas such as in-orbit refuelling to extend the life of satellites.

The problem is complex enough that a range of solutions will be needed, said JAXA's Yamamoto.

"There is no panacea."

kh/sah/kaf/axn/dhc

Models present creations for Celine during the Menswear Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2023 Fashion Week in Paris

Menswear regains its muscle at Paris Fashion Week

Lifestyle

Paris (AFP) – Menswear proved to be in reinvigorated form as Paris Fashion Week ended, with spectacle, innovation and the return of big-name designers to the catwalk.

The week was set to conclude with the surprise return of Hedi Slimane, the former Dior and Saint Laurent designer, now with French brand Celine. Just two years ago he announced he was done with the official fashion calendar.

Slimane -- who became hugely influential as the stylist behind bands such as The Libertines and Daft Punk in the 2000s -- has not presented a live show in Paris since February 2020. He had dismissed them as "obsolete", preferring to present collections with videos shot in luxurious French locales.

He gave no explanation for his reappearance on the catwalks, but he returns when there is a sense of a renaissance in menswear.

'A boom'

The past few seasons have often seen men's and women's shows merging into one -- with London Fashion Week doing away with the distinction altogether.

But this week in Paris seemed to reaffirm the divide, with houses wanting to boost their focus on menswear at a time when demand is booming.

US designer Matthew Williams presented his first-ever standalone menswear show for Givenchy this week.

"It's good to give space to men and women, to each and everyone their platform to tell a story," Williams told fashion site WWD. "There's more room for more looks."

His show was grounded in real-life styles from his native California, he said, with a lot of utilitarian knee-length shorts, cargo trousers and relaxed knitwear -- much of it in monochrome with a few splashes of pastel colours.

"Commercially, menswear is a market that has developed a lot with a particularly strong dynamic in Asia that has created a boom for pret-a-porter men's designers," said Serge Carreira, fashion expert at Sciences Po University.

'More accessible'

Also marking her first menswear show was France's Marine Serre, one of the biggest names to emerge in recent years.

The 30-year-old has made sustainability and inclusivity central to her brand, and that was evident at her sports-themed show in a stadium outside Paris on Saturday.

Many pieces were upcycled from old scarves and linen -- that had been turned into everything from speedos to flags and leotards.

The models came in all shapes and sizes, from children to older people, alongside celebrities such as ex-footballer Djibril Cisse and Paralympic gold medallist Alexis Hanquinquant, as well as Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon in one of the house's trademark moon-patterned bodysuits.

"Thirty percent of our sales have been for menswear in the last collections -- we're not at 50/50 but we do quite a bit of men's and we have no intention of doing less," Serre told AFP after the show.

"Upcycling is quite rare in men's but the locker-room lends itself very well to it," she added.

"These are shapes that are less complex: it's easier and we can have better prices that mean it is more accessible for everyone to wear upcycled pieces."

Meanwhile, familiar names also made a mark this week.

Dior took inspiration from the childhood Normandy home of the label's founder, with a flower-filled garden runway and some straw hats and chic outdoor loungewear among the outfits.

Hermes was also in a relaxed, pastel-infused mood, which designer Veronique Nichanian told AFP was inspired by "lightness, comfort, fun and colours that pop."

A model presents a creation during the Rick Owens Menswear Spring/Summer 2023 show, as part of Paris Fashion Week, in Paris,.

Fire and dance as spectacle returns to Paris fashion

Lifestyle

Paris (AFP) – With feats of contemporary dance and fiery orbs being flung from cranes, two of the showiest men's brands on Thursday brought some spectacle back to Paris Fashion Week after a subdued couple of years.

Japan's Issey Miyake, known for innovative and dazzling catwalk shows, returned to Paris on for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Staged by Rachid Ouramdane, director of the Chaillot National Theatre, the show brought together models, performers and acrobats who not only strutted but danced, leapt and climbed the walls.

The outfits were suitably loose and easy to move in, with fresh and vibrant reds, yellows and greens that matched the mood of rebirth.

The brand had presented all its collections via online videos or installations around Paris over the past two years, and was among the last to return to live shows.

"Now that it's easier to travel the world, we think it's the perfect moment to return with a full catwalk show," a spokesperson told AFP.

Meanwhile, under a blazing sun in the courtyard of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, US designer Rick Owens put on a typically arresting display.

It featured three giant spheres being set on fire, hoisted up by a crane and then dropped into the vast pool in the art centre's fountain.

He described it as a metaphor for a world "disturbed by war and constant online stone throwing" in the show notes

As for the clothes, there were the trademark exaggerated shoulders and grungey glamour, but with some lighter touches in the form of transparent and billowing fabrics.

Some of the pieces used new sustainable materials that have become popular with designers as they try to counter the industry's atrocious environmental record.

One used a leather made from the discarded scales of the giant pirarucu fish in the Brazilian Amazon.

"(It’s) a skin I use over and over," he said in the notes. "Fished as a food source by indigenous communities in the Amazon forest, the skins are then sold as a waste product generating income for them."

Spanish designers Jose Victor Rodriguez (R) and Jose Luis Medina, also known as "Victorio" and "Lucchino" pose for pictures during the inauguration of their museum at the Covento de Santa Clara in Palma del Rio, near Cordoba ,on June 23, 2022. Spanish designers Victorio and Lucchino met due to a common interest in fashion. They then fell in love, succeeded, went bankrupt, recovered and they now look back over more than 40 years of career, thanks to a museum that brings together dresses, fabrics, collection prototypes, accessories, footwear and jewelry.

Top Spanish designers Victorio and Lucchino get own museum

Real People

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Top Spanish fashion designers Victorio and Lucchino, who have dressed singers and aristocrats, inaugurated a museum dedicated to their works in their southern home region of Andalusia

The museum housed in a centuries-old former convent in the southern city of Palma del Rio displays a retrospective of their creations, which are characterised by bright colours and the use of lace and ruffles.

It includes fabrics, dress prototypes, shows, accesseries and jewellery from a career spanning nearly five decades.

"It is a nice finishing touch to our professional careers, a satisfaction, to leave a vestige of our work to future generations," Jose Luis Medina del Corral, 68, who goes by the alias Lucchino, told AFP before the museum's opening.

Lucchino and Jose Victor Rodriguez Caro, 72, who goes by the alias Victorio, met as teenagers in the 1960s and soon became a couple, united by their passion for fashion.

They joined forces in 1975 to create the Victorio y Lucchino brand, and burst onto the international scene a decade later by taking part in the New York International Fair.

Their creations have since appeared on catwalks in Japan, Germany, Italy and the United States, worn by top models such as Claudia Schiffer and Elle McPherson.

The duo's customers have included one of Spain's most famous singers, Rocio Jurado who died in 2016, and Spain's late Duchess of Alba, one of Europe's wealthiest aristocrats.

The new Victorio and Lucchino museum brings together dresses, fabrics, footwear, jewelry and other accessories CRISTINA QUICLER AFP

She wore a salmon-coloured dress with a moss-green sash by Andalusian designers at her 2011 wedding to a civil servant at her palace in Seville.

The designers say they have long drawn inspiration from the culture of Andalusia, Spain's centre for flamenco and bullfighting.

"Every creator lives from the land where he lives," said Victorio who was born in Palma del Rio.

Safi, a 26-year-old Saudi physician, poses for a photo with her short hair near the Kingdom Centre skyscraper in the centre of Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on June 19, 2022. When Saudi doctor Safi took a new job at a hospital in the capital, she decided to offset her standard white lab coat with a look she once would have considered dramatic. Walking into a Riyadh salon, she ordered the hairdresser to chop her long, wavy locks all the way up to her neck, a style increasingly in vogue among working women in the conservative kingdom. The haircut –- known locally by the English word "boy" –- has become strikingly visible on the streets of the capital, and not just because women are no longer required to wear hijab headscarves under social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

Short hair, don't care: Saudi working women embrace cropped locks

Lifestyle

Riyadh (AFP) – When Saudi doctor Safi took a new job at a hospital in the capital, she decided to offset her standard white lab coat with a look she once would have considered dramatic.

Walking into a Riyadh salon, she ordered the hairdresser to chop her long, wavy locks all the way up to her neck, a style increasingly in vogue among working women in the conservative kingdom.

The haircut –- known locally by the English word "boy" –- has become strikingly visible on the streets of the capital, and not just because women are no longer required to wear hijab headscarves under social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

As more women join the workforce, a central plank of government efforts to remake the Saudi economy, many describe the "boy" cut as a practical, professional alternative to the longer styles they might have preferred in their pre-working days.

For Safi, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym to preserve her anonymity, the look also serves as a form of protection from unwanted male attention, allowing her to focus on her patients.

"People like to see femininity in a woman's appearance," she said. "This style is like a shield that protects me from people and gives me strength."

A practical time-saver

At one salon in central Riyadh, demand for the "boy" cut has spiked –- with seven or eight customers out of 30 requesting it on any given day, said Lamis, a hairdresser.

"This look has become very popular now," she said. "The demand for it has increased, especially after women entered the labour market. "The fact that many women do not wear the hijab has highlighted its spread" while spurring even more customers to try it out, especially women in their late teens and twenties, she said.

The lifting of the headscarf requirement is just one of many changes that have reordered daily life for Saudi women under Prince Mohammed, who was named as the heir to his 86-year-old father, King Salman, five years ago.

Saudi women are no longer banned from concerts and sports events, and in 2018 they gained the right to drive.

The kingdom has also eased so-called guardianship rules, meaning women can now obtain passports and travel abroad without a male relative's permission.

Such reforms, however, have been accompanied by a crackdown on women's rights activists, part of a broader campaign against dissent.

Getting more women to work is a major component of Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 reform plan to make Saudi Arabia less dependent on oil.

The plan initially called for women to account for 30 percent of the workforce by the end of the decade, but already that figure has reached 36 percent, assistant tourism minister Princess Haifa Al-Saud told the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

"We see women today in every single job type," Princess Haifa said, noting that 42 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises are women-owned.

Many working women interviewed by AFP praised the "boy" cut as a tool for navigating their new professional lives.

"I am a practical woman and I don't have time to take care of my hair," said Abeer Mohammed, a 41-year-old mother of two who runs a men's clothing store.

"My hair is curly, and if my hair grows long, I will have to spend time that is not available to me taking care of it in the morning."

'Show of strength'

Saudi Arabia has traditionally outlawed men who "imitate women" or wear women's clothing, and vice versa.

But Rose, a 29-year-old shoe saleswoman at a Riyadh mall, sees her close-cropped hair as a means of asserting her independence from men, not imitating them.

The 'boy' haircut has become strikingly visible on the streets of the Saudi capital Fayez Nureldine AFP

It "gives me strength and self-confidence... I feel different, and able to do what I want without anyone's guardianship", said Rose, who did not want to give her full name.

"At first my family rejected the look, but over time they got used to it," she added.

Such acceptance partly reflects the influence of Arab stars like actress Yasmin Raeis or singer Shirene who have adopted the style, said Egyptian stylist Mai Galal.

"A woman who cuts her hair in this way is a woman whose character is strong because it is not easy for women to dispense with their hair," Galal told AFP.

Nouf, who works in a cosmetics store and preferred not to give her family name, described the message of the "boy" cut this way: "We want to say that we exist, and our role in society does not differ much from that of men."

Short hair, she added, is "a show of women's strength".

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 20, 2014 Canadian-born singer and songwriter Paul Anka sings during a concert prior to the opening of the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 tennis tournament on October 20, 2014 in Basel.

Paul Anka: Pop's oldest teenager keeps doing it his way

Real People

Juan-les-Pins (France) (AFP) – Paul Anka -- the silky-voice crooner who wrote such evergreen classics as "She's a Lady" and the lyrics to "My Way" -- has been around the block since he scored his first global number one in 1957.

But it has taken the Canadian 80 years to headline one of the world's top jazz festivals alongside legends like George Benson, Gilberto Gil and Van Morrison.

"It's gonna be a thrill for me" to play the Juan Jazz Festival on the French Riviera -- Anka told AFP from his home in Los Angeles.

Indeed, the line-up is a gathering of pure jazz royalty, from Herbie Hancock to Diana Krall, Stacey Kent and the genius Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan.

But Anka's roots are pure pop, going straight to the top of the hit parade -- as it was then called -- with his debut smash, "Diana", when he was only 16.

The song ushered in the era of teeny bopper stars, with Anka the first teenager ever to score a number one hit in Britain.

'My Way'

The song told of Anka's unrequited love for an older woman who was "out of my league" -- Diana Ayoub was 19 at the time -- and he used to pine for her after spotting her at his Orthodox church in Ottawa.

The son of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, Anka grew up speaking French, which is how he came to write the English version of one of the 20th century's most sung songs, "My Way".

His take on the standard, which was originally recorded by the French singer Claude Francois as "Comme d'habitude", became Frank Sinatra's signature standard, as well as a hit for Elvis and the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious.

Turned down Trump: Singer Anka said no to the former US president's inauguration — "I have a great history with France, with French people and the music," said Anka.

"I have to do some of the original hits that first took me to France when I was a young boy -- 'Diana', 'You Are My Destiny' and 'My Way' of course," he added.

Sorry Trump

Anka was slated to sing "My Way" at Donald Trump's inauguration as US president in 2017 before pulling out, although he avoided saying whether he supported him.

"You've got a better chance of getting a sunrise past a rooster on that one," he said.

While his full-on romantic standards such as "(You're) Having My Baby" may be slightly cheesy to some, his songs and celebrity have endured.

"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" inspired a viral TikTok challenge last year, and "She's a Lady" -- which he also wrote -- is one of Welsh singer Tom Jones's biggest crowd-pleasers.

Anka also popped up on stage next to Lisa in a 1995 episode of "The Simpsons" called "Treehouse of Horror VI" in which he co-starred.

The singer was and is still friends with some of France's musical greats, and hinted that he would pay homage to some of them during his show in Juan-les-Pins.

"You'll see when I do my show... I was connected to all the French singers from (Charles) Aznavour, to Johnny Hallyday ("the French Elvis"), Gilbert Becaud and Mireille Mathieu, whom I wrote an album for.

"One of my favourites was Michel Colombier," a prolific Hollywood film composer who "wrote a couple of albums with me".

Anka said he wanted to "get the sense of the audience" before deciding what to play, although there would be a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. "I can't be selfish and do what I want for myself.

"I want to be eclectic... I don't know if I will have time to sing anything from the new album, and I don't know if anyone will be interested," quipped the singer, who has just recorded a new television special.

Palestinian musician Ahmed al-Grinawi gestures while holding his Oud (Ud, or oriental lute) on the set of the #DDX talent show organised by media action group Munathara ("debate") in Hammamet, about 65 kilometres southeast of Tunisia's capital on June 24, 2022. Young musicians, dancers, actors and comedians from across the Arab world took to the stage in Tunisia to express their visions of freedom, a decade after the Arab Spring uprisings. The show, performed under the stars at a seaside theatre in the resort of Hammamet and broadcast across the region, featured winners of an online video competition to complete the phrase: "I will only be free when..."

Young Arab artists dream of freedom in unique talent show

Lifestyle

Hammamet (Tunisia) (AFP) – Young musicians, dancers, actors and comedians from across the Arab world took to the stage in Tunisia to express their visions of freedom, more than a decade after the Arab Spring uprisings.

The show, performed under the stars at a seaside theatre in the resort of Hammamet and broadcast across the region, featured winners of an online video competition to complete the phrase: "I will only be free when..."

It was the latest in a string of talent and debate programmes organised by media action group Munathara ("debate"), which aims "to spark much-needed conversations about rights, freedoms and social change in the Arab world", according to founder Belabbas Benkredda.

"Public debates even about fundamental rights can be very polarising, especially on social media," the 43-year-old Algerian-German said.

Munathara was born in 2012, the year after the Arab Spring revolts, kicked off by the ouster of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which had sparked high hopes for democracy in a region with an overwhelmingly young population.

But ironically, as Munathara marked its 10th anniversary with the show in Hammamet on Saturday, it was overshadowed by President Kais Saied consolidating a power-grab that has sparked fears for Tunisia's democratic gains.

Other countries in the region have seen the rise of even more repressive systems than before, while others have witnessed devastating civil wars.

'Freedoms under attack'

Munathara was founded at "a time of great hope and aspiration -- but the optimism has given way to cynicism, including among youth", Benkredda said.

"The Arab world's Gen Z came of age politically amid increasing despair and social division."

Syrian refugee and stand-up comedian Mohamed al-Kurdi, one of the performers in Saturday's show, said that today, "young people's freedom is restricted, and not just in the Arab world".

"All over the world freedoms are under attack," the 23-year-old added, sitting at the edge of a stage bathed in spotlights during a break from rehearsals.

Kurdi, whose TikTok account "MidoKrdi" has over 2.3 million followers, said that rather than dealing with politics, he wanted to discuss "the limits we impose on ourselves: fear of failure, fear of success. These things rein in our freedom."

For Saturday's event, he teamed up with fellow comedian and actress Dana Ali Makki, 22, in a comedy act about an overbearing husband and his wife.

Makki, from the southern Lebanese region of Nabatiyeh, said she believed young Arabs had slightly more freedom than a few years ago.

"People can be a bit different from their parents and from the society and culture they grew up in," she said.

"There's more subversion against customs, traditions, religion and society."

Asked how she defined her own freedom, she said: "I'm free when I'm able to say whatever I want, loudly, without being afraid of anyone. Free of all the restrictions society imposes, especially on women."

'Learn to resist!'

The show, the fourth of its kind, also served as a showcase for up-and-coming talent, such as Ahmed al-Qrinawi from Gaza, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade for the past 15 years.

He was a twice-published poet when he started teaching himself the oud -- a kind of lute widely played in the Middle East -- at the age of 22.

He would sit under a shelter he built on the family's roof in Gaza City, to avoid the disapproving ears of his conservative family.

To learn music theory, he used copies of music books borrowed from friends at a music school he couldn't afford to attend.

Last weekend, three years later, he appeared on stage playing an unusual seven-stringed oud, home-made with the help of a carpenter friend.

He said he had only heard about the competition shortly after the deadline, and composed, recorded and submitted his song in just an hour.

Fortunately, judges accepted the entry, and he went on to become one of the winners and perform with a professional band.

"I will only be free when I have a normal country, where death doesn't keep an eye on me," runs the first line of his song.

"In Gaza there's no freedom," Qrinawi said.

"Freedom's not just about food and drink. You can get a bird and put it in a cage and bring it food, but it's still in captivity."

For Lebanese actress and comedian Makki, who has a tattoo on her forearm reading "resist", the show was a chance to deliver another message.

"You can't stay in your house with your hands tied or stay silent," she said.

"Learn to say no to oppression and repression."

US singer Mariah Carey speaks onstage during the Songwriters Hall of Fame 51st Annual Induction and Awards Gala in New York on June 16, 2022.

Mariah Carey, Eurythmics, Pharrell enter Songwriters Hall of Fame

Real People

Mariah Carey sparkled as her peers inducted the beloved diva into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame, part of a class that also includes Pharrell, Steve Miller and the Isley Brothers.

This edition of the gala that honors the composers behind pop culture's most indelible hits was years in the making, after the 51st annual edition originally slated for 2020 was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A true industry award and who's who of music, the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala foregoes a televised event in favor of a festive dinner and intimate concert.

But even without a broadcast, the Manhattan ballroom was glowing with star power, not least thanks to Carey, who strutted the stage in a glittering, curve-hugging gown as she accepted the coveted honor.

Carey -- whose songwriting talent has long been overshadowed by her elastic vocal range and pop star image -- doubled as the night's stand-up comedian, making light of her own reputation as high-maintenance, at one point donning sunglasses to make a point about the less than ideal lighting.

But she struck a more earnest note in celebrating her fellow inductees and songwriters more broadly, calling them "unsung heroes."

For artist Jimmy Jam, who along with Terry Lewis produced a slew of massive hits including for Janet Jackson, Carey is among an elite class of songwriters whose work is timeless.

"There's nobody that's more savvy than her, that works harder, that knows all the intricacies of writing and is passionate about it," he told AFP on the red carpet.

Carey chose self-taught singing prodigy Liamani Segura to perform at the ceremony in her honor, and the 13-year-old led the crowd through a medley of the Long Island-born singer's smashes including "Fantasy," "One Sweet Day" and, of course, "All I Want For Christmas Is You."

Earlier in the night, inductee Miller shredded through his space dream of a hit "Fly Like An Eagle," after being inducted by his friend, the actor Bryan Cranston.

"It's really the highest honor -- the most intellectual honor," Miller, 78, told AFP on the red carpet of entering the songwriting pantheon. "It means the most to me."

- 'Sense of direction' -
Miller's performance followed a showstopper of an opening from St. Vincent, who inducted the Eurythmics -- the duo comprised of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart -- after delivering a spot-on version of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" that had Lil Nas X on his feet, a shock of blond curls bobbing atop his pale pink suit.

Lil Nas X accepted a special honor for gifted young songwriters on the night that also celebrated the songwriting talents of Rick Nowels, the songwriter behind megahits including Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness" along with "Heaven Is a Place On Earth" and "Circle in the Sand" by Belinda Carlisle.

Motown icon Smokey Robinson lit up the room with a set honoring Mickey Stevenson, whose success includes the classic "Dancing In The Street."

And Usher joined artist of the moment Jon Batiste in celebrating The Neptunes -- the duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo -- taking the audience through a hip-swaying medley of hits they wrote and produced including Usher's "U Don't Have To Call."

The ever-luminous Pharrell, wearing a showstopping cherry red leather suit, gave a lengthy ode to songwriting and advised young writers to push forward: "When that sparkle hits you feel it in your bone, you feel it in your body... you feel this sense of direction."

Earlier in the night, he told AFP it felt "surreal" to accept the accolade.

This year's gala comes at a time that the songwriting and publishing side of the music business that's oft-overlooked is experiencing roaring success, with catalogs seen as coveted assets for investors.

Jody Gerson, the Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing -- which in recent years has acquired catalogs including those of Neil Diamond and Sting -- accepted the night's publishing honor, and praised the songwriters that make her work possible.

And Paul Williams -- the songwriting legend behind hits like "Rainy Days and Mondays" from The Carpenters as well as the Muppet classic "Rainbow Connection" -- hailed songwriting's ability to connect.

"People respond to what we create, and that's the biggest prize of all," he said in accepting the night's highest honor, a lifetime achievement prize of sorts for songwriters already inducted. "We feel a little less alone in this world, while sharing a stack of vulnerabilities and dreams and self-doubt."

"Endless love songs -- I mean I write co-dependent anthems, I'm sorry," he quipped. "'I won't last a day without you' is not a healthy thought -- I've done some therapy."

But jokes aside, Williams was unequivocal in emphasizing the importance of his fellow lyricists: "My God, we never needed your songs more than right now."

mdo/ssy

© Agence France-Presse

The packed stands at Epsom and Royal Ascot are just the images a sport wants beamed worldwide but away from the prestigious meetings racing faces a challenging time in attracting new spectators

British racing battles to get new spectators to saddle up

Sports

Paris (AFP) – The packed stands at Epsom and Royal Ascot are just the images a sport wants beamed worldwide but away from the prestigious meetings racing faces a challenging time in attracting new spectators.

Worryingly for the 'Sport of Kings' the crown seemed to have lost a bit of its lustre with disappointing crowds for both the York and Chester festivals in May with high quality racing spread over several days.

At Chester attendance over the four days was 35,000, down 35% on the 53,500 that were at the corresponding fixture in 2019.

Ordinary midweek meetings are suffering too as racing like other sports and entertainment venues battle to attract footfall with the public ever more wary of spending money due to a cost of living crisis.

Rod Street, CEO of Great British Racing (GBR) which is the sport's central promotional and marketing body tasked with increasing engagement with and participation in horse racing, told AFP the decline in attendances is a concern.

"The cost-of-living crisis is certainly a factor," he said.

"Also following two years of extended lockdown periods (due to Covid-19), every sporting, leisure and entertainment offering is competing at once.

"We also believe that, after two years, people have got out of the habit.

"As ever, it is rarely one factor that affects the trend but rather several."

Street had laid out at the beginning of the year in GBR's manifesto they would target the 25-34 age group, though he concedes delivering the killer argument to persuade them to come racing is not easy.

"It is a considerable challenge," he said.

"Our consumer research informs us that the 25-34 year-old market demonstrates the best opportunity for growth, as this demographic consistently expresses an appetite to consider racegoing.

"Consideration is the stage that follows awareness and precedes purchase, so this insight is important.

"We will target broader ethnic groups in this age category that better represent society, making our catchment as wide as possible."

William Woodhams, CEO of Fitzdares bookmakers, says much needs to be done to make going racing more attractive to the public.

"It does feel lacklustre at the moment," he told AFP.

"Apart from key meetings we don't seem to be getting the right cross-section of the public.

"I do think the food and beverage offerings are pretty dire and attempts with bands etc don't really land well.

"The sport is entertainment enough and we just need to make the whole experience better."

'Excitement and drama'

Woodhams, drawing on his experience of six years with luxury goods firm LVMH, does not believe that racecourses offer value for money.

"For the very best experience you pay well over the odds and there should be more value at the entry level," he said.

"People under 30 should be paying £20 ($24) for entry, a free bet and a drink."

Entry fees vary -- the vast majority of racecourses offer free entry to Under-18's -- but extras quickly add to the costs.

Goodwood for example is £12-26 entry but a bottle of water is £2.50 the cheapest pint is £6 and a hamburger £9 as cited by The Racing Post.

Goodwood, York, Ascot and other high profile racecourses push the boat out to welcome spectators but that is not the case for other racetracks according to Woodhams and Qatar Racing's manager David Redvers.

"Several racecourses do a good job but many smaller ones are concentrating too much on the fact they receive a great majority of their income through media rights," Redvers said.

"For them it is actually a pain to have crowds and they would far rather have fewer bums on seats and not worry about infrastructure and expenses and get their money through TV rights."

The Jockey Club -- which owns 15 racecourses including Aintree and Cheltenham and puts on 340 racing fixtures a year -- would not fit into that category as they spend £7 million a year on marketing to attract spectators.

Indeed in the first four months of 2022, paid attendance across their racecourses was up by three percent on the same pre-pandemic period (2019).

For Street and Woodhams the future for racing is not a gloomy one -- for the latter it is "100 percent the most premium sport".

"Challenging but potentially rewarding," says Street of the future.

"It is unrealistic to think that everyone that comes through the gates will become a more engaged fan, but the more we do to get people closer to the excitement and drama of the sport and its tremendous characters, the better our chance of developing more lifelong fans."